A Guide to Falling in Love
by pyxistar
Summary: You start with the eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul.


**A GUIDE TO FALLING IN LOVE**

 **Step One**

You start with the eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul. What do you see when you look into them? Are they green like a swirling pool of moss? Blue and lively, like the blue jay fluttering past? Do you see nothing but your own reflection, a wall that blocks you out? Maybe you'll see two eyes the color of bluebells, as delicate as flowers but armed with resilience in the swirls of steel gray along the edges of the pupil.

When the eyes study you, do they light up like sparklers, or twinkle like the stars? Maybe you see nothing but a flash of daylight glinting back at you. Maybe there's no light at all but you can still see the bluebell shade underneath the murky curtain of dusk. And when you reach out to take her hand, she smiles and says she must be going home, but she'll see you tomorrow. That night you'll dream of butterflies on bluebells.

 **Step Two**

Next, move onto the hands. Hands can do a lot of damage. They can scratch, snatch, crush, punch, poke or choke. Some hands have long nails that bite into the flesh. Study the hands, and be weary.

But some hands belong to healers. These hands carry children away from danger, or preform life saving surgeries. These are the best hands. Look closely. There, you might see it — the scars left behind by the jabs of a sewing needle and callouses from tending to the needs of others. These hands are gentle enough to house the smallest of creatures without causing any harm. Look at the hands and stare in wonder and the miracles that come from them.

 **Step Three**

Next you'll look at the mouth. The curves and dips of the lips, the soft color of pink rose petals. Are they chapped? They might be. That does not matter. Don't focus on the appearance. Listen closely. Words come from mouths. Words can be as dangerous as knives. George Bernard Shaw is a wise man. He said, "Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance." Be aware, pay attention, and know.

You can tell when someone's lying. Looking to the left is a sign of lying. Twirling ones hair, playing with the fingers. Sucking in the lips is holding back information. Watch and listen. Does their tone sound forced? Does their facial expression match the tone of their voice, or the words spilling from their tongue?

When they tell you they love you, is there a small dusting of pink on their cheekbones? Are they studying you with those eyes — remember the eyes from step one, the sparklers and resilient steel and the bluebell color — to watch every twitch of your body, every movement of your lips, to see if you're lying when you whisper it back? Does their voice quiver just a little at the end, terrified of what you might say or do if you don't reciprocate the feelings?

Listen and watch. Words come from mouths. Words can be lies. But the body does not lie, and when you observe their mouths, you fall in love with every little truth that falls past them. For example, they might tell you about how their heart has been broken on their balcony, underneath the moonlight. They might tell you they spend most of their after school hours with their friends or helping their parents. They might tell you little secrets like how they fell in love for the first time, all while staring straight at you with an upright curve to their mouth.

Don't forget the hands and the eyes. They all come together in the end.

 **Step Four**

Next you'll fall in love with the ears. This step ties in directly with the last. Some people don't listen to hear, they listen to reply. How do they listen? Do they hear you at all? When you stand under the streetlights with them and you tell them you wish you could stare at the starlight forever, do they hum absently? Or do they tilt their heads up to look at you and sigh in agreement? Maybe they will point out the constellations to you, things you never really see but strain to anyway just because they listened and responded, eager to give you this piece of them in return.

What about secrets? Do they listen for the gossip, or with sincerity? When you vent about your day, are they leaning forward on the edge of their seat with a slight smirk on their lips, or are they leaning towards you, frowning subtly as they give you a comforting squeeze on the shoulder?

For example, you might tell them about your father and mother. The mother that disappeared without a trace. They might respond with a soft mist clouding their bluebell eyes, a mist of concern and second-hand grief (this is telling of empathy, not sympathy, and is a very important distinction). You might go on to mention your father, who is a recovering workaholic and mean-tempered man, with a bite in in his voice and red in his eyes. He does not seem to care about you. You tell them you want to make him proud.

What do they do then? They lay their head on your shoulder and take your hand into their own and tell you that one day, these things won't matter. Because family isn't excluded to bloodlines, it's the made of a collection of faces and names that make your heart melt into your abdomen when you see or hear them. It's the actions that make you feel warm on the first eve of winter and the hands that stitch together your broken soul. That is your family, not the father that doesn't care, but the friends that never leave.

Fall in love with the ears that hear. Don't waste your breath on ears that run directly to the mouth or hear only the words of others.

 **Step Five**

The next step is to fall for the shoulders. Don't look so skeptical. Shoulders can carry the weight of a thousand moons. See how sturdy their shoulders are. Do they have room for the trials of a partner? You don't want to add extra weight that can't, at that time, be carried. Do the shoulders sag when they walk? Do they keep their head downcast, or hide their eyes behind their hair? When you cry, do they let you cry into their shoulder, or do they baby their shoulders, burdened by the weight on them already, and settle for a pat on the back instead?

 **Step Six**

Listen to the soul. The actions. Look at all the things above and blend it all together. Are the resulting colors a lively array, like an untainted forest or a thriving garden? Or are the color random smears on a canvas, with no groove or rhythm. They are dark and go wherever they want, entering the heart with the intent of staining it with their colors instead of embracing your own?

 **Step Seven**

The final step is the most important. Once you've found a possible partner, you must look at yourself just as much as you look at them. Don't forget to look at your own eyes in the morning. When you think of your loved one, do the springtime fields in your eyes sparkle like theirs? Or is it just a subtle fizzle of light?

Look at your hands. Are they bruised and calloused? Or are they soft, ready for loving touches and tight hugs when needed? What about the shoulders? Are your shoulders sturdy enough for them to collapse into after a long day of work? Can they withstand the tears that drip down their cheeks as they cry about that one girl at work that tormented them as a teenager in high school and torments then still as an adult?

Do your ears hear these pleas for comfort? Do your lips utter reassuring truths? Do you shield your innermost soul from them, or do you pour it all out like ink on parchment, for better or for worse?

Love and you will be loved. Give more than you take. Love is not a game, but you can lose everything if you're not careful. Game over. Be sincere, genuinely charming. Let them fall for your truths as you fell in love with theirs.

Look into her bluebell eyes when she cries and tell her that you will always be there for her. Remind her of the time you told her about what family really means, and how much that changed your world. Tell her that once I understood those words, I saw color for the first time. Tell her!

I saw color for the first time when you touched me. You breathed life into me. Your hands pulled me out of the dirt and helped me brush away the stains of torment. Your words were the bandaids on my wounds. You taught me how to fall in love and how to give love. You're amazing, Marinette. And I hope this guide will help our children fall in love, too, when the times comes.

 **A GUIDE TO FALLING IN LOVE**

 _Written by Adrien Agreste_


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